Home for Christmas
by daydreamer10101
Summary: There's only one place Lois Lane wants to be for Christmas: home.


**Author's Note:** Hello all! Hope everyone has had a great holiday season thus far. This is actually my story written for Divine Intervention's Christmas fic exchange. It's a **Season 9** fic as per request of the person I wrote it for. It's unedited, but hopefully still good. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

**December 24, 2009**

Generally, Lois didn't care that much for Christmas.

Sure, all that peace on earth, giving to the needy, loving thy neighbor, and being kind to others stuff was great. And naturally, she had loved it as a kid. Back when her mom had been alive the Lane family had always went all out around the holidays; decorations, baking, the whole nine yards. After the death of Ella Lane, however, the General had thrown himself into his work. Christmas celebrations had sort of ceased in the Lane house after that, and while she had tried for Lucy's sake, it was never quite the same as it had been.

Later, when she moved in with the Kents, her love for Christmas had been rekindled. After all, who could say no to Martha Kent's stellar cooking and Jonathan Kent's contagious Christmas spirit? The Kent household had offered her something she had not felt for a very long time: a sense of belonging. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kent had always treated her like she was a part of the family, and that had always meant a lot to her.

However, in the years that followed her fondness for the holiday had once again diminished. Though she had continued to visit the Kent house every Christmas and always enjoyed herself, there had always been something troubling keeping her from fully embracing the Christmas season—Jonathan Kent's sudden death, the end of her relationship with Oliver, and being in the hospital with a comatose friend were only the first that came to mind.

All things considered, she hadn't given much thought to the fact that she may actually have an enjoyable Christmas again.

And she was starting to realize she may have been right—so far, this year's Christmas sucked. Of course, so far she had spent most of the holiday alone on both a jet and a public bus, neither of which was particularly festive. Especially the bus.

Lois settled back into her seat and stared out the window, drumming her fingers against the armrest impatiently as she watched the Washington DC area pass by outside. It was late, and while she was exhausted from all the travelling, she was also sort of wired knowing that she'd be seeing Clark very soon.

Though it also could have been the four coffees she'd consumed since supper.

Either way, she was more than a little anxious to get to Martha's and see both Kents. Her arrival was definitely going to come as a surprise to both: as far as they knew, she was supposed to have left for London that morning. 'Supposed to' being the key words.

Lois sighed as she thought of the craziness that had been today. If everything had gone as planned, she'd be covering one a meeting between many of the world's most important diplomats. However, as she had found ever since she had fallen in love with Clark Kent, things rarely went according to plan. And sometimes, like today, that was a good thing.

She had never planned on falling in love with Clark. He had snuck into her heart when she hadn't been paying attention. In the beginning, she had fought it tooth and nail. Now, she found it hard to believe that there was a time when she _hadn't_ loved him.

Things had been great since they had begun dating. In the nearly two months since then, things had only gotten better as time passed. Clark had been amazing, and right now thoughts of him were the only thing keeping her from going completely insane.

Rolling her sweater into a makeshift pillow, she rested against it and watched the snow fall outside, thinking of one of the last times they'd been together.

"_You know, when I suggested movie night I should have specified that I'd pick the movie, Smallville." Lois took the popcorn bowl he was offering her and made room for him on the couch. "I mean Christmas movies? Really?"_

"_It is December, Lois," Clark pointed out, taking a seat beside her. "Generally that's the time that most people watch Christmas movies."_

"_Very cute. I know that, I'm just not a huge fan of many Christmas movies. So what are we watching anyway?" she asked._

"_One of my favorites," Clark answered. "'It's a Wonderful Life'. My parents used to put it on every Christmas Eve and we'd all watch it together."_

"_Sounds nice," she said, hoping she didn't sound as wistful as she did to her own ears. What must it have been like to have a family around every year, to have traditions like that? The General had usually worked right through Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. She noticed him watching her and quickly changed the subject. "I've actually never seen this one before."_

_Clark seemed to sense the shift in her mood. He placed an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. "Then let's watch the movie."_

_Halfway through the movie, Lois was failing to see what made it a favorite of Clark's. It didn't really seem to be the type of movie he'd like—it was actually pretty sad._

"_It's kind of depressing isn't it?" Lois interrupted as they watched George Bailey beg his friends and family to remember him. "I mean, so far this movie isn't exactly instilling any feelings of joy or Christmas spirit in me. What is it that makes it your favorite?"_

"_I don't know," he said thoughtfully. "I know it's about a man who loses what's most important to him, but…" _

_He trailed off, staring at her with a strange expression._

"_But what?" she prompted him curiously._

"_He gets it all back, in the end," Clark finished with a small smile. "And that's what matters."_

Clark's love of happy endings wasn't exactly a surprise. Clark was a romantic at heart, and it was a personality trait that she definitely found herself enjoying, particularly now that they were a couple.

"_Smallville," she called as she let herself into the Kent farm. "I hope you're in the mood for Bruce Willis because I brought my entire Die Hard Collection and some Chinese." She paused when she realized she was talking to an empty kitchen. "Clark?"_

"_I'm in here Lois," he called from the living room. _

"_Clark, what are you doing?" she asked, raising one eyebrow and leaning against the doorframe._

_Clark looked over his shoulder and grinned. "What does it look like, Lois? I'm hanging mistletoe."_

"_Come on, Smallville. Don't you think that's a little bit cheesy?" she teased, eyeing the sprig of leaves and berries suspiciously._

"_Not at all," he said seriously. "My dad used to hang it every year in almost every doorway of the house. Then he'd find excuses to corner my mom under it."_

_She laughed. "That sounds like your dad. Though between you and me I don't think he needed an excuse to get your mom to kiss him."_

_The smile returned to Clark's face. "No, but dad used to say it never hurt to have one."_

_He finished hanging the mistletoe and turned around, looking at her in silence. He was staring at her so intently that Lois grew a bit self conscious._

"_What?" she asked slowly._

_A sudden breeze lifted the back of her hair and she turned back towards the living room. "Did you leave a window open or something, Clark?"_

_She jumped when she turned back to find him standing just inches away._

"_What are you doing?" she said, her voice sounding breathless._

"_Finding an excuse," was all he said. At her confused expression, he pointed upwards. Lois tilted her head back and was surprised to see a small cluster of mistletoe hanging above her head._

_Her brow furrowed in confusion. "What—? When did you hang that there? I swear that wasn't there a min—"_

_The rest of her words were lost as Clark's mouth descended on hers, and she forgot what she had been planning to say all together. As her arms found their way around his neck, she briefly thought that Clark didn't need to find any excuses to kiss her as far as she was concerned._

_But she was glad that he did anyway._

Lois couldn't help but grin as she thought of how many more clusters of mistletoe he had cornered her under that night—most of which seemed to appear inexplicably—after testing out the first one. Passion was definitely not something they had trouble with. In fact it was one of the many things working against them when it came to their plans to keep their relationship at a slow pace.

_Clark set the last of the decorations down on the couch, wiping the dust away on his jeans. "I think that's the last of them."_

_Lois peeled back the cardboard flaps of one box and reached inside, pulling out a clearly homemade ornament with a picture of a young Clark in the middle, sporting a full fledged Kent grin with one of his front teeth missing._

Of course,_ she thought._ It makes sense that he would have been an adorable kid.

_Instead of saying that to him, out loud she cooed, "Aww, did little Clarkie make this for his mom?"_

"_Second grade," he replied, snatching it from her hands. "And I'll have you know that the teacher said it was the best in the class."_

"_You know she probably said that to all the kids, Smallville," she pointed out with a grin._

"_Nope," Clark said smugly. "Just me."_

_Lois rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't help but laugh. She stood up, placing the dusty box back on the couch. "So, where do you want to get started?"_

"_We should probably untangle the lights and check for any burnt out bulbs," Clark decided, pulling out strand after tangled strand out of more cardboard boxes._

"_Okay," Lois said, cracking her knuckles. "Let's do this."_

_Thirty minutes later, Lois decided that they weren't making any progress at all._

"_Damn it! I don't understand, where—this doesn't even belong with these ones…" Lois grumbled, fumbling with what seemed like the billionth strand of Christmas lights. She had some looped around her torso, a few were tangled around one of her legs and for the love of god, if she didn't find the __**one light**__ that was blacking out a certain section she was going to scream._

"_Having trouble, Lois?" Clark's amused voice asked her._

_Lois scowled when she saw him sitting a few feet away, calmly sorting out lights into neat coiled piles at his side. None of _his_ lights were burnt out and there was not one complicated knot to be seen._

_Of course._

"_Laugh it up, Smallville. See if I decide to help you next year," Lois told him, still struggling with her lights._

_Shaking his head, Clark kept his laughter to a minimum and crawled over to where she sat. "Here, let me help you with that."_

_She stopped struggling and sat still as he began to unravel the wire from around her body, his lips twitching in amusement every time he came upon a particularly difficult knot._

"_I don't know how you get yourself into these situations," he murmured, more to himself than to her._

"_It's a gift," she said, watching his face as he worked through the kinks. His brow was furrowed in concentration, his blue-green eyes narrowed slightly as he tugged and pulled. Not for the first time—hell, it was probably the thousandth—she was struck by how beautiful Clark Kent was. _

_She knew beautiful wasn't really a word that most people would choose to describe a man, but Clark really was beautiful. She had always thought so, even when he had driven her crazy on a regular basis. To say he was good looking was an understatement; she was pretty sure that she had used the term 'Greek god' to describe him more than once. But it wasn't just the fact that he was gorgeous that made her think he was beautiful; it was his personality as well. It was the way he was kind to everyone, even to complete strangers. It was the way he was always there for everybody, even when they didn't necessarily deserve it. He was sweet, and dependable, and a million other things that made him Clark Kent, the guy she loved more than she had thought it was possible to love anyone._

_He was a beautiful person, inside and out._

_Clark noticed her staring and stopped fiddling with the Christmas lights for a moment. He smiled softly in return._

_Impulsively, Lois leaned forward and fused her mouth to his. Her hands slid up to grip his shoulders as she kissed him. Clark responded quickly, almost as though he had just been waiting for her to make her move. She realized somewhere in the back of her mind that he probably had been; ever since she had agreed to be his girlfriend and told him she wanted to take things slowly, it seemed as though he had been holding back, not wanting to force her into anything she may not be ready for. His hands cupped her face as he kissed her back, nipping lightly at her lips. Lois sighed as he deepened the kiss, leaning her backwards so that she was lying on the living room floor. Clark followed suit, his lips never leaving hers as he hovered over her using his arms as leverage to keep from crushing her._

_Lois buried her fingers in his hair and closed her eyes as he moved his lips down and peppered openmouthed kisses along her jaw, down to her neck, and across her collarbone. _

_God, he was good at that._

"_Lois," he whispered against her skin._

"_Clark." She shivered when she felt his fingers slide under her shirt, lightly teasing the skin over her ribcage. She tugged on his collar, bringing him back up to her and kissed him hard._

_She was right on the verge of saying to hell with all her rules and ripping Clark's shirt off when a sudden zapping noise broke startled the couple on the floor and the farm suddenly plunged into darkness. Neither of them moved._

"_What happened?" Lois asked once she felt she had regained a normal breathing rate._

"_We have a lot of lights plugged in," Clark answered. His voice didn't sound too steady either. "The breaker might have blown."_

_Even after he said it, he didn't immediately get up to check on anything. Instead he continued to look at her in what little light was given off by the fireplace. There was a soft look on his face and he opened his mouth to speak. For one heart-stopping moment Lois half expected him to say the three words that neither of them had dared to say out loud yet._

_Whatever he had planned on saying, he clearly changed his mind. Instead he reached up and brushed her now messy hair back into place before standing and helping her to her feet._

"_I'll go check the breaker," he said finally, giving her hand one final squeeze._

_Lois nodded in understanding, feeling a small sense of relief and a greater sense of disappointment as she watched him go._

Stretching her arms, she smiled ruefully. That night with Clark was one out of a hundred moments that made her love him even more. Even while a part of her was disappointed that they hadn't continued what they had started that night, she loved that he had respected her request to take things slow, knowing how important it was to her not to rush into things and do it right.

Ironically, their resolution to take things slowly—something she had been grateful for in the beginning—was really starting to drive her crazy. There was taking things slowly, and there was barely moving at all. And honestly, she wasn't blind—Clark was gorgeous. There was only so much a girl could take before she snapped. Her recent decision to get past the snail's pace they had gotten stuck in had made thinking that she couldn't spend Christmas with Clark much harder to deal with.

_Metropolis was ready for Christmas. The bustling, modern city that usually gave newcomers a sense of intimidation had transformed itself into a welcoming epicenter of holiday activity. Twinkling lights lined the windows of apartment buildings and were wound around the few trees that industrialization had left in the city. Store fronts were decorated with winter displays and wreaths hung on doors lining the streets. Some shops had even gone as far as to hang mistletoe in their doorways, much the amusement of holiday shoppers who hustled from one place from the other as they hurried to complete their shopping before the quickly approaching Christmas. Even the weather seemed to be contributing to the Christmas feel: large fluffy snowflakes were fluttering down to coat the city in a fine white powder. The city was a truly mesmerizing sight._

_But the idyllic scene was completely lost on Clark Kent, who was oblivious to anything other than the woman at his side. Clark smiled slightly as he watched Lois Lane walk beside him, talking animatedly, her face alight as she spoke. Somewhat guiltily he realized that he had no clue what she was speaking so passionately about, and in a way he didn't care. As long as he continued to make noises of assent every so often, he was perfectly free to simply watch her and be happy about the fact that she was there. With him._

_Exactly where he wanted her._

"…_so then I said to Randall that there was no way…" _

_He tightened the grip he had on her hand and pulled her a little bit closer to his side, simply because he could. The move earned him a smile but Lois continued her story, oblivious to the slight awe he was looking at her with. _

_Unbeknownst to Clark, Lois had long since noticed that he had stopped paying attention to what she was saying about Brady's decision to push her deadline up. She eyed his distant expression curiously, but didn't stop talking._

"_So," she continued a little louder. "After that I went back to the bullpen, but wouldn't you know it? There were a bunch of elves sitting at my desk. Which you'd think would be weird, but I'll tell you Smallville, those crafty little bastards are actually pretty good with computers. Unfortunately they aren't so good with building fires, because the entire building caught went up in flames. Don't worry though, the Blur stopped by and put it out while wearing a tutu, and then I stripped naked and sang Jingle Bells for the entire DP staff."_

_She watched Clark's head bob absently before—_

"_Wait, what?" Clark's head turned so fast she was sure that he would get whiplash. "What did you say?"_

"_You haven't been listening to a word I've said, have you?" Lois smirked, crossing her arms over her chest._

"_Uh," he shifted guiltily, his cheeks turning pink_. _"Something about…elves?"_

Of all the things for him to pick up on… She_ shook her head. "What's with you tonight Clark? It's like you're on another planet."_

"_I'm sorry," he apologized. His apology was somewhat less effective due to the big smile he was sporting as he looked at her. "You distract me."_

_Lois raised an eyebrow. "I distracted you from me? Nice try Casanova, but I don't really see how that works."_

"_Trust me, if anyone could do it, it would be you," he said with mock seriousness._

_Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. As always, she melted into it and forgot for a few minutes that they were standing in the middle of a crowded Metropolis sidewalk. When he pulled away Lois opened her mouth to speak, but Clark beat her to the punch. _

"_Let me guess, PDA number seven? Well," he amended thoughtfully, "Seven and a half if you count the time Jeff got a glimpse of us making out in the elevator."_

_Lois grinned. She certainly did count the interlude in the elevator the week before where Clark had had her pinned up against the wall with her legs wrapped around his waist. It was just another prime example one of the many hitches in her whole taking-it-slow plan. And while there weren't many slip ups—Clark was, after all, as close to a perfect gentleman as they came—every once in a while they both forgot about her plan and, well, ended up making out in one place or another._

_Lois' grin broadened._

"_Excuse me, but would you like to make a donation to Toys for the Needy?" a voice asked from beside them. _

_The couple turned to see a man holding out a charity jar outside a Macy's. Clark smiled and reached into his wallet. Unlike most people walking by, who were either ignoring the man or dropping a few coins in as they passed, Clark pulled out a handful of bills and dropped them into the jar. Lois could see that at least one was a twenty. She suppressed her smile at the kind gesture that was so typically Clark Kent._

_When they moved away from the store, Lois gripped his arm and leaned up to press a quick, gentle kiss to his lips._

"_What was that for?" he asked when she pulled away, sounding pleasantly surprised._

"_Just for being you," she said simply. She tugged on his hand to get him walking again. "You know, I'm sure there are more than a few kids that are going to have a happy Christmas now, courtesy of Clark Kent."_

"_Speaking of Christmas," Clark said as he ran his thumb over the back of her hand, "there's been something I've been meaning to ask you. Would you like to come to Washington with me and spend Christmas at my mom's?"_

_She froze at the sight of his hopeful expression, her stomach twisting in her gut. "Oh…"_

_The hopeful expression slid off Clark's face. "What's wrong?"_

"_I was planning on telling you at dinner, Smallville," she said regretfully, hating the disappointed look on his face and hating herself more for causing it. "I was getting ready to leave work today when Randall came over and offered me an assignment. It's a great opportunity: I'd be covering the UN meeting in London, but I'd need to leave Christmas Eve morning and I…"_

"_Said yes," Clark finished with a rueful smile._

"_Well no, not yet. I told him I'd think about it," Lois finished. She bit her lip, watching him closely. She didn't want him to think she was putting him second in favor of work._

_Clark was quiet for a moment. "I think you should go."_

_Lois looked at him, surprised. "You do?"_

"_You said it yourself—it's a great opportunity." Clark smiled at her, resting his hands on her shoulders. "I'll understand. The news waits for no one, right?"_

"_Are you sure you're okay with it Clark? I mean it is our first Christmas together as a couple…" she said slowly._

"_Lois," he said reassuringly. "It's okay."_

Lois winced at the memory of that night. She could tell that he had been disappointed, but he had been supportive, telling her that he understood and that he'd call her Christmas day. He had even promised to have some of Martha's Christmas cookies waiting for her when she returned. The worst part was she knew he had actually meant it when he said he understood. He always did. Sometimes she thought that he probably understood her better than even she did.

She had felt guilty leaving, despite the fact that Clark had encouraged her. It didn't matter though; in the end, she hadn't been able to go through with it anyway. She had made it all the way to the departure lounge today before changing her mind.

"_Now boarding Flight 736 to London," the attendant's voice crackled over the sound system._

_Lois stood, grabbing her bags off the hard plastic seats and falling in line with the rest of the passengers. She tried to hoist her carry-on over her shoulder, only to have someone bump into her from behind. The bag dropped to the floor, one pocket busting open on impact._

"_Damn it," she cursed, bending down to pick up her scattered belongings. She shoved a few handfuls into back into the bag and reached for the rest when she suddenly recoiled in pain. "Ouch," she muttered, looking at her newly cut finger. She reached back down for whatever piece of junk had cut her and stopped when she saw what it was._

_Lois lifted the small photo, staring at her and Clark's smiling faces. Clark had snapped the photo at their first monster truck rally just over three weeks ago. He had surprised her with the tickets, joking that he was making good on her list of things to do now that they were dating. He had said it jokingly, but if they were being honest, he actually had done quite a few of the things she had suggested that first day, right down to the picnic in the park. Lois smiled widely, tracing the edge of the picture with her fingers. She wondered what he was doing right now, if he felt as lonely as she did at the moment._

_She wondered suddenly why she wasn't with him. In fact, what the hell was she doing getting ready to board a plane to London?_

"_Miss?" the attendant said, eyeing her strangely. "Are you going to board the plane?"_

_Lois looked at him as though noticing him for the first time. "No," she said, looking just as surprised as he did. "There's somewhere else I have to be." Grinning widely, she practically threw her ticket at him and bolted, pushing her way through the thick crowds back towards the ticket counters._

"_Excuse me," she said breathlessly to the woman behind the counter. "Do you have any flights leaving for Washington tonight?"_

_The woman looked at her like she had lost her mind. "Honey, it's Christmas Eve and you're in Metropolis Airport. Unless you bought a ticket weeks ago, I can't help you."_

"_Really? There's nothing at all you can do?" Lois demanded, knowing that she sounded desperate._

"_Nope."_

"_Oh come on, it's Christmas. You can't do anything to help me?"_

"_No."_

"_What if I slip you a fifty?" Lois tried._

"_Look, unless you have your own plane there's no way you're getting out of here tonight. Or tomorrow," the woman said impatiently. "Next please!" _

_Lois moved out of the way before she could be knocked down by an irritated man in an Armani suit. Her face lit up as a thought occurred to her: she may not have her own plane but she knew someone who did. Lois dug out her Blackberry and quickly dialed._

"_Hello?"_

"_Ollie?" Lois said in relief. "It's me. I need a favor."_

"_Lois," she could practically hear the smile in Oliver's voice. "I was wondering when you'd call. I'm guessing this favor has to do with you getting out to Washington tonight?"_

_Lois paused, her eyes narrowing. "How did you know?"_

"_Chloe told me you were spending Christmas Eve on an assignment in London while Clark was at his mom's, so I had a feeling you might need my jet before the night was over."_

"_You knew I'd end up going to Washington," Lois said in disbelief._

"_Sorry Legs, but when it comes to Clark you're a little predictable." There was a laugh before he continued, "The plane is all fuelled up and ready to take you to DC whenever you're ready to go. Consider it my Christmas present to the both of you."_

_She smiled and said sincerely, "Thanks Ollie."_

"_You're welcome. Merry Christmas, Lois."_

"Next stop, Ridgeway Avenue," the bus driver droned over the loudspeaker, startling her out of her memories.

Digging into her bag, she pulled out the list of directions she'd hastily scribbled down earlier that day. It wasn't that much further. Feeling relieved, she closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat, her thoughts still focused on a certain farmboy turned reporter. She'd be home soon enough.

* * *

It was almost midnight by the time she arrived at Martha's apartment building. The building's elevator was broken—typical, she had thought—and so she had to struggle up seven flights of stairs with her suitcases before finally finding herself in front of Martha's door.

Taking a deep breath, Lois knocked on the apartment door and waited. The door swung open a moment later to reveal Martha Kent herself.

"Hi Mrs. Kent," Lois said. She felt a rush of relief at the sight of the woman who was like a mother to her; she hadn't realized how much she had missed her until she saw her standing there, her face as welcoming and kind as it had always been. She was wearing a flour stained apron, and the familiarity brought a smile to her face.

"Lois!" Martha's face broke into a huge smile. She pulled the younger woman into a tight hug. "You finally made it."

"Wait, what do you mean 'finally? You knew I was going to come?" Lois asked incredulously.

"I had a feeling you might show up," Martha answered, her eyes sparkling as she held back a smile. "I'm very glad you did."

Lois smiled widely at that, but as much as she loved seeing Martha, there was another Kent she needed to see. "Mrs. K, where's Clark?"

Martha didn't look at all surprised at Lois question. "Clark went for a quick walk, but I think I know where you can find him."

Clark walked slowly down the street back toward the apartment building, admiring the view from where he was. Though he would always prefer the Kansas countryside, he had to admit that his mother had a great place in Washington. Her apartment building was perched on a hill, overlooking the rest of the city and offering a breathtaking view for all who lived there. He was pretty sure he could see part of the White House from where he stood.

He paused for a moment to look up at the clear night sky with the stars twinkling brightly above, their light reflecting dimly in the snow coating the ground. Feeling both a sense of wonder at their beauty and the loneliness that he found sometimes accompanied looking up at the stars, he wished not for the first time that Lois was there with him. He had been disappointed when she had told him about her assignment and that she wouldn't be spending Christmas with him; he wanted her there more than anything. But he'd also known that he couldn't tell her not to go—as much as he missed her right now he wouldn't have felt right about asking her to turn down such a great opportunity.

For a very long time he had refused to take a close look at how he felt about Lois. A part of him had always been afraid to do so for fear of discovering something he wasn't ready to deal with. Things with Lois had always been easy; even when they had driven each other crazy on a daily basis they had always known where they stood with each other. The part of him that was afraid hadn't wanted to change that, hadn't wanted to risk her constant friendship. And so for the longest time he had ignored or explained away all the lingering looks that existed between them, the moments that had felt anything but platonic, and the touches that seemed to last a little too long to be friendly.

But when she had disappeared for those three weeks, something had changed. Or maybe, he thought idly, things had already changed and it had taken losing her for him to figure it out. Either way, those weeks when he had thought she was lost to him forever had made him realize how much he needed her, how much she had meant to him.

Realizing that he loved her had come later, when just a week after her reappearance he had made the decision to go back to the life he had left behind in grief. The moment she had leapt out of her seat and thrown her arms around him with the most heart-stopping smile he had ever seen, it had hit him like a ton of bricks. He loved her. He wasn't quite sure exactly when and how it had happened, but Clark Kent had fallen in love with Lois Lane. As he held her he felt as though something that had been inexplicably _missing_ from him had been returned. He loved her, and if it took weeks or even years, he decided he was going to make sure she knew it. Being with her made him happier than he could ever remember being. He just wished she was there with him so that he could tell her that.

"Okay, seriously Clark. Do you know what I've been through today to get here? I spent the entire day cramped up in planes and buses so I can get to Washington and you're out here enjoying fresh air and the stars. Go figure."

Clark's eyes widened at the sound of her voice. He turned, stunned, and there she was standing a few feet away wrapped in a winter coat and scarf, her cheeks pink from the cold and her hair messy from the bitter wind.

She looked beautiful.

"Lois! You came," was all he said, and a happy smile lit up his face.

And just like that, any quip or joke she was about to make died immediately, and she ran towards him, throwing her arms around him and tackling him backwards into a snow bank. She dug her fingers into the collar of his jacket and pulled him to her, kissing him soundly. Clark made a noise of startled surprise against her lips but held her closely, kissing her back with just as much enthusiasm.

"Lois what are you doing here?" Clark said, staring up at her in awe after she pulled away. "I thought you were going to London."

"I was," she said breathlessly. "But I called Randall from the airport and told him that he was going to have to find another go-to girl for this one. I think the news can wait for a few days. So I ended up calling Oliver and he loaned me his plane so I could come out here."

"Remind me to get him a really great present for Christmas," Clark said, still looking at her with that blinding smile. "What changed your mind?"

"You did."

Clark's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "But I told you to go to London."

"I know." Lois reached out and brushed an errant curl away from his forehead. "Clark you had every right to ask me to stay but you didn't. You put me first and let me make my own decision."

"It was a great opportunity," he explained. "I didn't want you to miss out. Besides, with us taking it slow I thought you might appreciate the time away."

"Speaking of that, I don't want to take it slow anymore," she said firmly. "No more rules, no more holding back—whatever happens, happens. I got to the airport and realized that I didn't want to spend Christmas without you even if it meant getting the story of a lifetime. I want to be here, with you."

"I want to be here with you too, Lois," he said sincerely. They smiled at each other once more before Clark slid his hand behind her neck and pulled her back down to him in the snow.

Somewhere in the distance a clock chimed out, signaling midnight. Clark's eyes opened and he pulled away briefly to whisper, "Merry Christmas, Lois."

"Merry Christmas, Clark."

She was finally home.

**The End**

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Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are loved.


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